All the Diamonds You Have Here
by SuavePanda
Summary: Piper really, really hates high school. Leo and Percy are the only people she talks to, and that's fine by her. But senior year is coming, and when Jason Grace, certified goody-goody and town sweetheart, is partnered with her, Piper might just start enjoying high school after all. (piper/jason, percy/annabeth, leo/rachel)


In early May, after the musical wraps up but before prom and graduation plans take over everyone's life for a few weeks, there is a meeting to announce the band's music and student leadership for the next season. Everyone gathers after homeroom, excused from classes because when you're the regional champions nine years running and have placed in the top ten nationally for seven of those nine years, band is sort of a big deal. It's an even bigger deal because none of the sports teams have won anything in longer than anyone can remember, and the only other team that ever succeeds in anything at all is the forensics team, which, honestly, is a lot of the same kids as the band kids. Leo likes to think this makes their life like the first Bring It On movie, making him Kirsten Dunst, of course. Piper is never sure that's entirely accurate, but whatever.

Junior year, the night before announcements, Leo actually climbs in Piper's first floor window with a bottle of rum he'd convinced some college girls to buy him.

"It is Tuesday," Piper says, looking up from her notebook and rolling her eyes.

"Tomorrow might just be the worst day of my entire life. If you love me, you will drink this with me," Leo says, flopping down on Piper's bed.

"You know you're going to get it," Piper says, rolling her eyes. Leohas been panicking for weeks that he's not going to be announced a drum major, even though Piper is pretty sure Leo has had it in the bag since the day he'd walked into the band room the summer before ninth grade.

Piper isn't actually sure why it matters so much. She knows how much it means to Leo, and she'll be happy for him when it happens tomorrow and all, but band has just never been a big a deal for Piper. Honestly, she's only in band because Leo sat down next to her in fourth grade honors band and has never really left. So when Leo and his trumpet had joined marching band, Piper and her saxophone hadn't really had much choice but to follow him. Not that Leo is her whole world or anything pathetic like that. It's just that, in this part of town, in their awful school district, Leo was sort of the only person who would sit next to her in fourth grade honors band, and so things have just. Stuck. But still, band has always been so much more Leo's thing.

"They might pick someone else! Or they might make someone terrible student president and then I'll have to work with an awful person all year. Or we could have a shit show or freshman who are horrible or, oh my god, can we please drink this now?" Leo says.

"It's Tuesday," Piper repeats.

"I already told my mom I'm staying here," Leo says.

"So I can't kick you out?" Piper asks.

"I'd have nowhere to go. I might have to get drunk in the streets by myself. Then I'd probably get arrested and it would be all your fault. Do you really want to be responsible for that?" Leo asks. Piper sighs and Leo beams at her and sits up, opening the bottle and taking a sip, wincing and then passing it to Piper.

"How'd you convince your mom to let you over here on a weeknight?" Piper asks, taking a swig because sometimes having will power and being friends with Leo don't really go together.

"You know my mom loves you. Thinks you're a good influence," Leo says.

"Clearly," Piper says, grimacing at the burning in her throat.

"But you are, look how you're taking small sips and making judging faces at my gulps. Almost makes me think this is a bad idea," Leo says, punctuating it with a very large swig of rum.

"Very responsible of me," Piper says.

"It is," Leo agrees.

"Your mom has to be the only adult around that thinks that," Piper says, thinking that she's sure the reason Percy isn't here is because he's hardly allowed at Piper's at all, let alone with Leo, let alone on a school night.

"My mom is the only adult other than your own parents you've bothered to speak to you in years," Leo returns.

"Whatever," Piper says, "we're going to regret this tomorrow."

"Are you really not even a little nervous?" Leo says.

"What would I be nervous about?" Piper says.

"I don't know, what if you're in charge of something? What if someone we hate is drum major? What if I have a meltdown in the middle of band room?" Leo says, downing more rum as he does.

"I won't be, and you'll be fine, hungover, but fine," Piper says.

"What if student president is like, Will or Drew? I hate both of them and they would sabotage me," Leo says.

"It won't be. No one likes Will, and if Drew is anything it'd be Dance Captain, but that's probably going to be Reyna," Piper says. Leo takes another large gulp and leans against Piper, his voice more than a touch drunk when he says,

"Will is probably the only person who has more of a problem with you than with me."

"I don't think that's the case," Piper says, rolling her eyes again.

"You broke his heart," Leo says.

"I did not."

"You did, Piper the heartthrob, heartbreaker," Leo says, giggling a little.

"Will is just what happens when I try to talk to anyone at school who isn't you or Percy, obviously," Piper says. Will had been an ill-advised dating experiment in sophomore year, three weeks and several very heavy makeout sessions and then. Well. The thing is she's never actually told Leo what happened there, just that they'd broken up, but Will had, with her hands down his pants no less, whispered that he was glad he was wrong about her, whispered that he'd always thought she might be gay and that he was so glad that wasn't the case and. And maybe she could have let that go, but then he'd added things about how awful that would be and used words like gross and she'd insulted Mitchell and that had just. She'd pulled away and not said a word on the drive home, or to him since. (She's not gay, she doesn't think, anyway. She's actually pretty sure she's bisexual, and she wishes there was someone in this damn town besides Leo or Percy she could say that to, but. She counts down to college every day.)

"He's heartbroken, pining, but you've rejected him," Leo says, a hand on Piper's thigh and the other passing her the rum bottle.

"Shut up, Leo," Piper says.

"That's your judging face again," Leo says.

"Drinking on a Tuesday," Piper says again, even as she takes another sip herself, her head starting to swim a little bit.

"This is a special occasion," Leo says, "and if you're going to make me charm college girls all by myself, the least you can do is drink with me."

"I'm sure I would have been no help at all, you're the charming one," Piper says, not sure why she's bothering to answer Leo's nonsense at all.

"Yes, but you have such a good face," Leo says, running a thumb over Piper's cheek as he does. Piper shakes her head and shoves Leo's hand away,

"Seen your soul mate lately?" she asks, mostly to distract Leo, mostly to change the subject away from something that Piper both loves and hates that Leo never understands, to change the subject away from her face and how in this town it's not a good face to have at all. Not that—whatever. Piper knows it could be worse, but she also knows that she hates it here. Feels wrong here. When she'd been younger and they'd lived in the city proper, it had been different, better. Piper catches the bus whenever she can, and orders a coffee and draws and counts the days until college and looks at the people and how no one looks like anyone else, how everyone is different. At school, in the supermarkets and gas stations and malls in what technically makes up their suburb, everyone looks the same. Everyone but Piper.

"She hasn't been in homeroom lately, I miss her," Leo says, taking another drink and then taking a fistful of Piper's shirt in his hand.

"Student council?" Piper asks, grateful the distraction works. Rachel Dare always works as a distraction for Leo. He's been in love, or at least in very strong lust, with Rachel since about the second week of freshmen year when Rachel had breezed into Leo's homeroom (Grade 9: So-U) and drummed her pencils on his desk. Piper has heard the story of that about four times a week since.

"Do you think if we win for the tenth year, under my leadership, she'll fall for me?" Leo says.

"I don't see why she wouldn't," Piper says.

"Or, me and you and Percy could form a band, like, a band like hers and we could enter a battle of the bands against her and fall in star-crossed love!" Leo says.

"When do we have time to do that?" Piper asks.

"I could sign up for student council!" Leo says.

"Again, time," Piper says.

"I could have one of those fake offices where mostly you just skip homeroom to go to meetings but not much else," Leo says.

"Homeroom is when you get your homework done," Piper reminds him.

"Piper," Leo whines, "you're not helping!"

"Fine. Yes. A band is a wonderful idea. Happy?" Piper says.

"Percy's gonna be pissed we drank without him," Leo says.

"Yeah, and he's my ride in the morning. Which I guess makes him our ride, since you're sleeping here," Piper says.

"Our ride to doom," Leo says.

"You'll get it," Piper says.

"Then I really would be Kirsten Dunst," Leo says, his grin lazy and very drunk.

"Sure," Piper says.

"Do your tattoos come off, can I lick them to see?" Leo says. Piper shoves him.

"We're never watching that movie again," Piper says, and she hates that she knows exactly what Leo is on about, that it's not nearly as nonsensical as it should be.

"You should adopt Rachel as your sister, and then we could fall in love and she'd make me a CD," Leo says.

"I don't think it works that way," Piper says.

"You could try," Leo says.

"Sure," Piper says again, "I'll get on that."

"I can always count you," Leo says, and then he sort of flops completely on to Piper's lap and starts humming nonsense songs and Piper runs her hand through Leo's hair and closes her eyes and tries not to think about how stupidly hungover they're going to be in the morning.

* * *

Percy is, in fact, pissed at them on the drive to school the next morning, and he turns the music as loud as possible and swears at them a lot, just so they know how not sympathetic to their hungover plight he is. He's over it by the time they get to the band meeting, whispering things about how he doesn't so much care if he's percussion captain but that he really hopes they're doing something that allows him to play a little guitar from the pit like he had in sophomore year.

Piper slinks down in her seat in between Percy and Leo and tries to keep her eyes closed for as long as possible. The lights in the band room are ridiculously bright and she could kill Leo for this. She doesn't know how she's going to make it through the day. She's trying to take deep breaths to quell the churning in her stomach when Leo elbows her.

"Piper!" he says, annoyingly enthusiastic for someone who should feel worse than Piper does.

"What?" Piper mutters back, not opening her eyes.

"She's here!" Leo says.

"Who?" Piper asks.

"Rachel," Percy supplies from her other side, sounding amused. Piper opens an eye and glances across the room to see Rachel sitting with a few other juniors.

"Maybe she's here to propose," Piper says, dryly.

"You're grouchy today," Leo says.

"I wonder why," Piper shoots back.

"I think we're starting!" Percy says, motioning to the front of the room where Mr. Brunner, their band director, is standing. He launches into a speech about them being champions and their legacy and what he expects from all of them, and Piper closes her eyes again, figuring Percy or Leo will nudge her if anything exciting happens. She half hears the music for next season announced—a Gershwin tribute—which doesn't mean much to her, but Leo makes a low noise approval so she's sure it's a good choice. She hears bits and pieces about how many incoming freshmen they have, and then an acknowledgment of upperclassmen that are joining them, Rachel Dare's name being one of the ones read out. Which, actually, is interesting, if only for Leo's benefit.

The leadership announcements start after that, and Piper keeps her eyes closed because she knows drum major will be last, and she just doesn't care much other than that. It's all the people she expected, really. Percy is percussion captain; Hazel, who everyone likes but Piper doesn't know very well, is the woodwinds section leader; Nico, who throws parties Leo is always dragging her to, gets brass; Reyna, who is practically a professional dancer and who had made weapons line as a freshman, something unheard of until then, is the dance and colorguard captain, like she'd told Leo she would be; and her boyfriend, Jason the trombonist, is band president. Which only leaves—

"And our drum major will be Leo Valdez," Mr. Brunner says, and the room breaks into applause. Leo stands up and bows, grinning ridiculously.

"Told you," Percy and Piper say almost at once when he sits back down.

"Yeah, yeah," Leo says, but he's beaming. People start to talk amongst themselves then, whispering about the show and the announcements, a few people looking angry about things they didn't get, when Mr. Brunner speaks up again.

"Hang on, everyone. One more thing to announce," Mr. Brunner says. They all swivel their heads to look at him. Piper glances to Leo and Percy, who shrug.

"Maybe we've got a benefactor or something? Increased budget?" Percy suggests.

'We're bringing back a student position this year, something we haven't had in years, but we think we have a student who is up for it, so, let's all give a round of applause for Piper McLean, student drill designer," Mr. Brunner says. Piper bolts up her chair and feels the eyes of the entire room on her. She feels blood rush to her face and hears Leo and Percy cheering beside her but—what the fuck? She did not, she cannot actually—she doesn't understand this at all. Mr. Brunner smiles at them all and goes to his office to let them talk, since they're all off the hook for all of first period, and Piper jumps up to follow him, ignoring Leo and Percy's calls, and very much ignoring the looks from across the room, including the one so laser-focused Piper can actually feel it, from Jason the new band president.

"Um," Piper says when she gets into Mr. Brunner's office. Mr. Brunner smiles at her.

"Congratulations," he says.

"Um," Piper says again, "I don't understand."

"You're an artist, yes?" Mr. Brunner says.

"I guess, sort of," Piper says.

"More than sort of, from what I've seen," Mr. Brunner says.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Piper asks, crossing her arms. Mr. Brunner smiles again and pulls a sheet of crumpled notebook paper out of his desk and hands it to Piper.

"This," Mr. Brunner says. Piper glances at the sheet, and. Okay. Maybe that's her work. And maybe it's a comic. Of a marching band. Doing a song. And changing positions in each panel. But that's not. She didn't. She was just bored one day and she'd been listening to a song on repeat and it had ended in this because Leo had made band the center of their damn worlds but she didn't mean to-

"This isn't drill," Piper says, looking up.

"Did you have a song in your head when you drew this?" Mr. Brunner asks.

"Yeah, but. I mean, drill is different," Piper says.

"You'll have help, it's not like we're leaving you all alone, you'll have Leo, and Jason, and Reyna, and myself and the rest of the staff. We already have basic outlines, we just thought you might have ideas on how to spice them up, make them more fun," Mr. Brunner says. Piper swallows.

"I don't know how to do this," she says.

"I think, and the rest of the staff thinks, that you'll be good at this. Give it a try. Don't sell yourself short," Mr. Brunner says.

"Okay," Piper says, because she's not very good at arguing with adults. Mr. Brunner smiles at her again. Piper tries to take deep breaths, not sure if her nausea is from her hangover or from this conversation.

* * *

Jason shows up at her door at eight the first morning of summer vacation. Piper blinks at him, bleary eyed and in pajamas, the morning sun bright and Jason looking awake and awfully determined for this early in the morning. Looking awfully confident for someone who Piper has never had a conversation with before.

"Are you serious?" Piper says, and. Yeah, maybe that's not the politest thing to say when someone comes to her door. But, fucking seriously. It's eight in the morning.

"We have a lot to do. Can I come in?" Jason says. Piper scowls at him. This is why she doesn't talk to people who aren't Leo or Percy. She doesn't know how to begin here.

"Um. Yeah," Piper says, stepping aside and letting Jason in. Jason breezes by her, and he's carrying several folders and a giant cup of orange juice.

"Thanks. I know it's early but I wanted to talk to you right away. We can't let ten years slip away. Can you imagine being the seniors that lost for the first time in a decade? We can't let that happen," Jason says. Piper wonders how much juice he's already had.

"We would have lost if we'd waited to do this until noon? Or if you'd called first?" Piper asks.

"We don't have time for that," Jason says, putting his stuff down on Piper's kitchen counter while Piper checks her coffee pot to see if her parents had left any before they'd left for work. They haven't, of course, and she sighs and pulls things out to make some, needing something to keep up with Jason.

"We have all summer, and how do you know where I live, anyway?" Piper asks. She's really not doing well at this. Leo would be disappointed. But. Seriously. Who does this? Who just shows up at someone's house like this?

"It's in the band directory, and considering our first practice is in two weeks, we don't really have all summer at all," Jason says.

"But we don't learn drill until band camp, which is in August," Piper says.

"Which is sooner than you think," Jason counters. Piper frowns.

"My address was in the directory but my number wasn't?" Piper asks.

"I thought that might be like, your parents' number at work or something. It didn't say," Jason says.

"So thought you'd just come over?" Piper asks.

"You could give me your cell number, for future reference. I don't know how I don't already have it," Jason says.

"Because we're not friends?" Piper offers, hitting the 'brew' button on her coffee pot and turning around. Jason sort of stiffens at that.

"Look, whatever. If you want me to go I will, I just take this really seriously and I was hoping you did too, but if you want me to leave, just tell me," Jason says, frowning. Piper sighs and leans back against the counter.

"You're already here, it's fine," she says, and then, because she can already hear the reprimand she'll get from Leo if she doesn't, she adds, "Sorry. I'm just not good with mornings. And you did catch me off guard. I wasn't trying to be an ass."

"I'm sorry too," Jason say, grinning, "I know not everyone likes mornings as much as me."

"Mornings and I don't get along," Piper says.

"I could bring you coffee from now on? I have these awesome flavors? Or I guess I could come later in the day, if you really wanted?" Jason offers, he's still smiling, all warm and genuine and Piper can feel her annoyance melting.

"Just warn me first, yeah?" Piper says, "And I mean, if you've got good coffee to spare? We never have anything exciting around here."

"Will do," Jason says, then he smirks and adds, "I have those same pajama bottoms, by the way."

"Yeah?" Piper asks, glancing down at her Iron Man pajama pants and blushing a little. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea shopping in the men's section.

"I do. I wouldn't have thought you were the superhero type," Jason says.

"Seriously? I don't think there is a superhero I haven't been for Halloween," Piper says, and. What is she doing?

"It's always the best costume," Jason says.

"In elementary school, I used to tell people I was a Power Ranger," Piper offers. Jason beams at her.

"Really?" he asks. Piper nods.

"Yeah. I, um. Did you want to see something?" Piper hears herself asking, the words out before she can stop them. Jason jumps up.

"Sure," he says, still all enthusiastic and genuine. Piper bites her lip, but then she pushes herself away from the counter and leads Jason down the hall to her room, because she's already said it, and there really isn't anything else she can pretend she was talking about. She opens her bedroom door and allows herself a small grin at Jason's wide eyes.

"Whoa," Jason says.

"Enough the superhero type for you?" Piper asks, smiling. She watches Jason's eyes dart from poster to poster, around to stacks of comic collects and to piles of DVDs on Piper's floor, somehow glad Jason is seeing all this, even if she normally isn't at all good with people in her space. Jason swallows,

"Can I?" he asks, gesturing into Piper's room. Piper nods, weirdly endeared that Jason had asked. Weirdly endeared in general, considering how she'd felt about Jason until about five minutes ago.

"Yeah," Piper says. Jason walks over to the wall by Piper's bed and stops, staring at the place where Piper has some of her own sketches hanging.

"Did you do this?" Jason asks, something like wonder in his voice.

"I did," Piper says.

"Wow," Jason says, and he sounds really impressed which makes Piper flush a little. She goes over to her desk and pulls out the crumpled notebook page that had lead to Jason in her room. She hands it to Jason,

"This is, um, this is, I guess, why Brunner thought I'd be good at this?" Piper says. She watches Jason's eyes scan the page, watches him raise his eyebrows, looking even more impressed than before.

"I'm sorry," Jason says. Piper frowns.

"What?" she asks.

"I was wrong about you," Jason says.

"Excuse me?" Piper asks.

"No, I just. You're not who I thought you were. At all," Jason says, shrugging and smiling and Piper is pretty sure that's a compliment. She's not sure if she should press who Jason thought she was.

"You didn't know me," Piper says. Jason nods.

"I know. We didn't know each other," Jason says.

"We still don't, really," Piper points out.

"I'm glad we're getting to," Jason says, and he sounds so warm that it makes Piper's pulse go all stupid and quick like Jason meant something Jason couldn't have possibly meant.

"Because of superheroes?" she asks, shaking her head and trying to clear away sudden rushing thoughts about what a nice smile Jason has and how good he smells.

"Something like that," Jason says. They just look at each other for a moment, a moment that is long enough to make Piper's pulse go even faster, and then Piper shakes her head again and says.

"I should go check on that coffee."

"Right! Lots of work to do," Jason says, but he bites his lip when he does, like maybe his pulse is racing too.

Jason is not at all what Piper thought he was.

* * *

Two weeks later, the day before their first practice, all the seniors have a party at Nico's, an all-day affair with swimming and grilling and beer bought with fake IDs that they all drink early in the day so they have time to sleep it off. Piper doesn't really swim, but she doesn't mind being here as much as she thought she would. People keep talking to her, and she's trying really hard to be social, and it's sort of working and not as bad as she would have thought. Mostly people are just talking about how they're excited for her drill and asking how her summer has been so far, but still, it's more than normal, like being seniors together has magically made them all like each other a little more.

Reyna is telling her they'll have to meet up soon to work out some of the crossover between the choreography and the drill when Jason walks up and smiles at both of them. Piper makes an effort she's sure is noticeable not to look at Jason shirtless, and it fails sort of spectacularly and she ends up staring and blushing a little.

"It's coming along really well, you'll be excited," Jason says to Reyna, obviously having heard their conversation.

"I already am," Reyna says, and then she kisses Jason on the check and excuses herself to go refill her plate of food.

"How long have you guys been together?" Piper asks, staring at her feet as he does. Jason has been at her house just about every morning for the past two weeks, and Piper's pulse hasn't stopped racing in his presence yet, which is so, so bad.

"What?" Jason asks.

"You and Reyna," Piper says, because. She can do this. She can be friends with people. Maybe.

"Oh," Jason says, then he reaches out and tugs on Piper's arm a little and pulls her so they're off to the side, a little secluded, "can I tell you something?"

"Sure," Piper says, thrown and willing herself not to focus on the place on her skin Jason's hand had just been.

"We're um. We're not together like that. We just sort of, people assume, and Reyna's great, so I don't mind. But," Jason says. "we aren't—not like that." Piper raises an eyebrow.

"Okay?" she asks.

"I don't know, we just—we aren't dating. I could—I mean, if I wanted. I could date someone," Jason says and his eyes do this thing like they're begging for Piper to get what he's trying to say. Oh. Oh.

"Oh," Piper says, and okay. It's not like that's permission to stare at Jason's chest or arms or smile or anything, but it's easier to stare at Jason than it is to process all the explosions going off in her brain at this news, so she does it anyway.

"Yeah," Jason says, "I just thought—we're getting to know each other, right?"

"Right. I'm um, good," Piper says, "I mean, thank you for telling me. I mean," Piper stops and just sort of stares at Jason again, trying to find good words and failing. Jason stares back, and there is a moment when Piper feels Jason's eyes sweep all over her, just take in from head to toe and she's certain he shivers and suddenly she's very, very aware that they're both in swimsuits and standing very close together and. Damn.

"I just like, it's not a secret, it's not a thing," Jason says. "It's just too much trouble to clear it all up, you know?"

"No, I get it," Piper says. Jason smiles.

"You're not swimming?" he asks, clearly done with the serious part of the conversation now. Piper is very much okay with that.

"I don't really swim," Piper says, "You're not drinking?"

"I don't really drink," Jason says. Piper grins back, and—and there is water dripping down Jason because he very clearly has been swimming and it's like, tracing these lines down his body and Piper kind of wants to trace them too, and finding out that there is a remote chance that might be sort of in the realm of possible is kind of making her dizzy.

"Leo does, though, and this is about the time when I should go find him and make sure he's still standing," Piper says, and it's an excuse but it's also true. Jason nods,

"Okay," he says, "I'll see you later."

"Yeah," Piper says, and she tries to run as she steps away from Jason, smiling, stupidly shirtless and apparently available Jason.

"Leo!" she says when she finds him by the pool, "Leo!"

"What?" Leo says, looking up.

"I. Come to the kitchen with me?" Piper says. Leo raises an eyebrow.

"I don't know if we're drunk enough for that, darling," Leo says.

"I need to talk to you!" Piper hisses. Leo smirks and stands up, following Piper into the kitchen which is thankfully free of people.

"Yes?" Leo says as Piper pulls the door shut.

"Help," Piper says.

"Be more specific, maybe?" Leo says.

"Jason," Piper says. Leo frowns.

"I saw you talking to him. Do you not like him? He was pretty great in the meetings we've had but if you don't like him then I guess—" Leo starts.

"No," Piper interrupts, "that is the opposite of the problem here, Leo."

"The opposite of— oh," Leo says, and then his face breaks into a large grin.

"Yeah," Piper says.

"This is my new favorite day. I had an almost-naked conversation with Rachel and you have a crush," Leo says.

"I don't, he's just," Piper says.

"Pretty great?" Leo supplies.

"He came over to my house at eight in the morning and we have the same pajama pants and he liked my drawings and now he brings me coffee and we've been watching movies after lunch sometimes and he's like, genuine and warm and shit and he's walking around without a shirt on and he smells really good and I," Piper says, flushing.

"How long has this been going on?" Leo asks.

"Nothing is going on, but. He came over the first day of summer," Piper says.

"Why am I just hearing about this now?" Leo asks.

"I didn't—I have to tell you something you can't repeat, okay?" Piper says.

"Something other than your crush on Jason?" Leo asks.

"Yes. Promise?" Piper says. Leo rolls his eyes.

"Scout's honor," Leo says.

"How drunk are you?" Piper asks, stalling.

"I am fairly certain you can tell, Piper. You've seen me drunk enough times to be my own personal sobriety test. So. You tell me," Leo says. Which is an irritatingly fair point.

"You're sort of not. Why aren't you?" Piper asks.

"Did you miss the part where I told you I was talking to Rachel?" Leo says.

"Oh, right. How'd that go?" Piper asks. Leo groans at her and puts his hand over Piper's mouth.

"No. Stop. Tell me your thing. The thing you dragged me into the kitchen for," Leo says, pulling his hand back.

"It's a possibility," Piper says. Leo raises his eyebrows.

"What?" Leo says.

"Jason," Piper says.

"I got that much," Leo says.

"He told me that he's—well, he didn't say but he said that he and Reyna only let people think that they're a thing because it's easier. Like. It'd be harder to clear up the rumors than it is to just let it be. And then I think he might have like—his eyes were kind of all over me and there was a moment and help," Piper says. Leo smirks and puts a hand on either one of Piper's shoulders.

"He told you that?" Leo asks.

"Yeah," Piper says.

"And what did you say?" Leo says.

"I. I told him I was glad he told me? We've been getting to know each other," Piper says.

"That's all?" Leo asks.

"What do you mean?" Piper asks.

"Oh god, you're such an idiot," Leo says, shaking his head.

"What?" Piper asks.

"So, a guy you have a crush on, comes to you, shirtless, and tells you, basically, that he's into you and he isn't actually dating? And that it's just rumors? And you don't clarify your own rumors? Really?" Leo says

"What rumors?" Piper asks, confused.

"The whole school thinks we're dating." Leo shrugs. "Well, except Percy. But still."

"Oh," Piper says.

"Honestly, Piper," Leo says, poking Piper's stomach with his thumb.

"That does make sense," Piper says. "Wait, did you tell Rachel that?"

Leo pauses. "Oh. I guess not."

"You're stupid too."

"I know," Leo says. Piper sighs.

"So Rachel?" she asks. Leo grins,

"I told her I wanted to be on student council," Leo says.

"Aren't all the offices already gone? And you're already in band with her," Piper says.

"There is an unfilled office she can appoint me too, apparently. And I know, but the more time we spend together, the more she'll love me," Leo says.

"What office?" Piper asks.

"I don't see how that matters," Leo says.

Maybe, Piper thinks, they're both sort of idiots.

* * *

On Wednesday of the third week of rehearsals, Piper is drawing on a crumbling corner of the building with a sharpie while Leo and Jason are playing bad-cop-good-cop to freshmen who just can't master walking in step, and Percy is pouring water over his head to try to catch the attention of that new blond girl, and they've got a fifteen-minute window until sectionals start when Rachel walks up to her.

"Hi," Rachel says, grinning.

"Hey," Piper says.

"Can I ask you something?" Rachel says, leaning against the wall next Piper.

"Sure," Piper says.

"I don't want to step on any toes or anything," Rachel says.

"What?" Piper asks.

"Well, I joined band, and I was thinking about going out for the musical too," Rachel says. Piper studies her.

"And?" Piper asks, lost.

"I don't want to be, like, chasing the same thing as you, here," Rachel says.

"Activities to kill time until graduation?" Piper asks.

"Leo," Rachel says.

"You joined marching band for Leo?" Piper asks, capping the sharpie.

"Mostly for Leo, also because it can't hurt my college applications, and because I love music," Rachel says. Piper laughs.

"We're not chasing the same thing," Piper says, "and you don't really have to chase, you know."

"Good, I mean, I didn't think so, but I had to ask because you guys are so close. And don't I?" Rachel asks.

"I get it. And no. Not at all, actually," Piper says.

"Okay," Rachel says.

"It's mutual chasing," Piper says, because, interfering isn't her thing at all, but this doesn't even seem to count, and it will get Leo what he's wanted for three years now. She feels like this is less interfering and more just being a good friend.

"Oh," Rachel says, grinning.

"Yeah," Piper says.

"Thanks," Rachel says, "and you're sure you don't mind? I mean, I pass like, the best friend's judgment test?"

"I always thought it would happen, actually," Piper says, "like, Leo has talked about you for forever, and I always thought it would happen one day, even if I had no idea if you even—if that was a possibility? But I always thought, even though I don't really know you, that you guys like, made sense," Piper finishes. Rachel beams at her.

"We do, don't we?" Rachel asks.

"You make him happy," Piper says.

"He makes me happy too," Rachel says, and. Maybe Piper could learn a bit of confidence from this girl.

Rachel just stands there, smiling. "What?" Piper asks.

Rachel shakes her head. "I just know that I really like Leo, yeah? Like, I just—I really, really like Leo, you know?" Rachel says, and Piper hears something really familiar in that that makes her wonder why she hasn't been friends with Rachel all along.

"I do, actually," Piper says. Rachel grins brighter, and when Piper grins back it's genuine.

Summer has somehow already more than doubled the count of people she can stand in this town.

* * *

That Friday Percy's mom and sisters are out for the evening and he has Piper, Leo, Jason, and that new blond girl over for dinner. Piper isn't sure how some bizarre double date plus Leo helps anything at all, but the way Percy stretches out Jason's name when he tells them who is coming over it makes it clear that he's been invited just for Piper's benefit. They sit in Percy's backyard and Jason brings fruit salad and Leo brings ice cream and Annabeth, the blondie, snags them some bread from the bakery she apparently works at and Percy makes a ridiculous toast about their successful band season under Leo's fantastic leadership.

They end up staying pretty late and putting on Independence Day in the living room because Annabeth says she's never seen it and the rest of them aren't sure how that's possible. Leo falls asleep on the couch pretty quickly and Annabeth and Percy pile onto one arm chair, Annabeth rambling about her weird thing for architecture a little, and Piper and Jason sit on the floor debating which Will Smith is the best Will Smith. Piper sort of falls half asleep somewhere around computer viruses that defeat aliens, her eyes snapping open when she realizes she's on Jason's shoulder.

"Sorry," she says, sitting up a little.

"For what?" Jason asks, smiling at her. Piper smiles back, blinking the credits of the movie into focus. She glances around, Leo is still asleep and Percy is… gone. So is Annabeth, actually.

"Where're Percy and Annabeth?" Piper asks. Jason shrugs.

"Don't know? I think they've been gone for a while. I wasn't really paying attention," Jason says.

"You were sucked into a movie you've seen a dozen times and you didn't notice?" Piper asks, grinning.

"Not quite," Jason says, and his voice is sort of soft and whispery even though Leo is the heaviest sleeper in the world and Annabeth and Percy are off somewhere so it's just them and this is not a healthy thing for Piper's pulse at all.

"What do you mean?" Piper asks.

"I wasn't watching—" Jason starts, but then Leo shifts on the couch above them, knocking a pillow onto the floor, and it must sort of snap Jason out of something because he shakes his head and says, "did you wanna go find them?"

"Yeah," Piper says, "can't leave Percy unattended for too long."

"Okay," Jason says. He stands up and pulls Piper up with him, and if Piper grips onto his arm a little longer than she strictly needs to in order to steady herself, well. Jason doesn't seem to mind. They head down the hall towards Percy's room, because Piper can't figure out where else they would have gone. It occurs to her when they're outside Percy's door that they might want to knock first, considering that Annabeth and Percy have been stealing glances at each other all summer, and for a second she almost thinks they shouldn't interrupt. Then she thinks that Percy's mom will be home before long at all, so interrupting them might be a good thing. She's about to voice some of this to Jason when voices float though Percy's bedroom door, murmuring and soft and intimate.

"We found them?" Jason says, blushing a little.

"Yeah," Piper says.

"Should we like, knock?" Jason asks, "they sound sort of. Occupied."

"Percy?" Piper says, knocking once and waiting. She glances at Jason. "Knocking is a good call."

"Really?" Percy's voice calls back, "Seriously?"

"We're like ten minutes away from parental supervision around here. Just a warning," Piper calls back. Annabeth sort of groans and Percy laughs in a muffled way that sounds an awful lot like he's under Annabeth, which is sort of more than Piper needed to know—not that Percy wouldn't have filled her on all the details later, but still. There is a very definite sound of kissing then, and more laughter from Percy, and whispers Piper tries not to make out. Percy appears at the door a minute later, disheveled and flushed. Annabeth, behind him, looks like she could've just stepped out of a magazine, not a curl out of place. Hopefully some of her precision in life will rub off on Percy, Piper thinks.

"Congratulations?" Jason offers.

"Shut up," Annabeth says with no force behind it at all, biting her lip to keep in a smile. Percy is like, death gripping her hand and looking very pleased with himself.

"This won't work at all, Percy, here," Jason says, and he reaches out and buttons Percy's shirt so it actually hides the marks on collarbone and then sort of tugs at his shirt to straighten out the wrinkles. "You should probably run a hand through your hair, too."

"What about Annabeth?" Percy asks.

"I can fix myself," Annabeth says, and then quietly, to Piper, "How does he get so messed up from like ten minutes of making out?"

"It's a talent," Piper whispers back, conspiratorial.

"Hey, no secrets," Percy. He holds out his arms for inspection. "Am I good, then?"

"Your shirt is inside out," Jason says.

"Are you always this useful?" Percy asks.

"I try," Jason says, grinning.

"You can stay," Percy says, but he looks at Piper as he says it, and Piper tries not to sink into the carpet.

* * *

The thing about writing drill is that Piper actually kind of really enjoys it. It's just like, she listens to the songs over and over and she closes her eyes and she pictures movement to them and then she plots the movement with dots and numbers on the grid that represents the field and then at practice she gets to watch people do it. Which is pretty awesome, actually.

"Hey," Nico says one day during band camp while they walk to lunch together, "are you trying to kill me?"

"No?" Piper says. Nico shakes his head,

"You might want to edit that thing where I have to make like, fifty yards in a sixteen count then," Nico says. Piper winces.

"Shit," she says.

"I'm also going backwards, and I might run into Rachel, which would just devastate Leo," Nico says.

"I'll fix it, sorry," Piper says.

"Good," Nico says.

"Sorry," Piper says again.

"Nah," Nico says, "It's good though, you know?"

"Is it?" Piper asks.

"It looks good, I mean, from what I can see, and it's good that it's hard. Championships and all. I just don't want to die," Nico says.

"I promise not to write anything else that might endanger your life," Piper says.

"I'd appreciate it," Nico says, "and really, it looks great so far."

"You think?" Piper asks.

"Yeah, and I mean, I could never do it. I don't know how you do. I'm impressed," Nico says.

"Thanks," Piper says.

"You like it, don't you?" Nico asks.

"I guess," Piper says. Nico grins at her.

"I promise not to tell anyone if you tell me you do. I wouldn't want to ruin your reputation for hating all things high school," Nico says.

"I like you, usually," Piper says, grinning. Nico smirks. Guess that's yet another new friend.

"Yes, Percy and Leo and I are the only things you don't hate in this terrible, horrible, high school life," Nico says, rolling his eyes.

"Pretty much," Piper says.

"Good, then," Nico says, and then he's pulled off by Hazel to go over woodwinds.

Piper bites her lip, watching him go. He's kind of right, is the thing. She does like writing drill.

"Oh, Nico, marry me," Leo says in her ear, jolting her from her thoughts. Piper jumps and pretends she didn't, huffing at Leo and elbowing him.

"Shut up," Piper says. "I still hate everyone. I hate everything. I'm our signature grouch."

"Lies," Leo says, "I think you're having fun writing drill and fun in band this season. I think you care if we win championships and I also think you like Annabeth and Jason and maybe even like, Hazel and Reyna and Nico and people," Leo says.

"I think that's a bit of an exaggeration," Piper says.

"But not a total lie?" Leo says.

"Not a total lie," Piper agrees. Leo grins at her.

"Your secret's safe with me," he says. They reach their table then, Jason, Percy, Rachel, and Annabeth already there, talking about some poor freshmen who'd fallen this morning. Piper makes a mental note to check that kid's movements in the drill too. (Annabeth and Jason and Rachel have been sitting with them lately, like all of a sudden the six of them are a group of six, like they're some sort of thing—and Jason always sits next to Piper like maybe they're some sort of thing and it's all very—Piper does not actually know what is happening to her life.)

"I was starting to think you weren't joining us," Percy says as they sit down. Piper rolls her eyes,

"Because you've been here, what, two minutes longer than us?" Piper asks.

"It was ages, you know I can't spend that much time without you, I get all itchy," Percy says.

"I think that's probably your shag doing that, actually," Leo says, ruffling Percy's too-long hair. Percy throws a grape at him.

"Mixing me up with Piper, are you?" he asks.

"Hey," Piper says.

"So," Rachel says, "I was thinking."

"Yeah?" Leo says, instantly sort of hyper focused like he gets with Rachel.

"My dad has this lakeside bungalow? It's a two hour drive and I thought maybe we could all go up like, the weekend before school starts?" Rachel says.

"Like a seniors thing?" Jason asks.

"Like a just the five of us thing, actually? If you guys wanted?" Rachel says.

"Yes," Leo says, "That's a very, very good idea."

"I like it too," Jason offers, and he glances at Piper as he says it so Piper says,

"Yeah, okay."

"Let's do it," Annabeth says. Rachel grins at all of them.

"Good," she says.

Jason kicks his foots against Piper's under the table, and it lingers for too long to be unintentional, and Piper swallows and thinks, hopes, dreams, that the weekend away might turn out to be a very important weekend for them.

* * *

"Take a walk with me?" Jason asks late in the day, finding Piper outside while she's drawing an after-dinner doodle. "Rachel said there are trails around here and stuff?"

"Okay," Piper says, because turning down alone time with Jason is not a thing she is even capable of doing.

"I think Percy was breaking into the beer, so, I mean, you can go back in now if you wanted, but Annabeth said I should I come out after you and Rachel mentioned about the trails and I sort of thought we could," Jason says.

"Let's walk," Piper says. Jason beams at her. Piper puts down her pencil and heads off with Jason.

"You sure?" Jason says, even though they've already started down a trail.

"As long you're sure we won't get lost forever in the woods. I'm not so good with directions," Piper says.

"Or mornings or swimming?" Jason says, grinning, "and yeah, Rachel said they're all like, super simple circles."

"You do cross country, right? You're used to this?" Piper asks. Jason smiles.

"I do," Jason says.

"Are you good?" Piper asks.

"You could come watch, find out," Jason says.

"I don't really, school events. Sporting events. Not my thing," Piper says. Even though she knows she would totally go, like, put on a letterman's jacket and cheer for Jason on the sidelines if Jason asked. It's sort of sad, actually. She's not sure she should let Jason know that just yet.

"I'm pretty sure that as part of the band you go to every football game," Jason says.

"Different," Piper says.

"How?" Jason asks.

"We're not really there for them, it's for us," Piper says.

"And band isn't a school activity?" Jason asks. Piper sighs.

"I have to do something to kill time until graduation," she says.

"Can I ask you something?" Jason asks.

"Okay," Piper says.

"Before we got to know each other, before this summer, I could never figure out why you were in band at all, like, you just seemed to hate it and everyone so much and like, you remember when I said you weren't who I thought you were?" Jason asks.

"Yeah?"

"I guess I just, why do you hate it so much? Or like, do you really hate it that much?" Jason asks. Piper stops and leans against a tree and sighs again,

"Kind of?" Piper says.

"Kind of?" Jason repeats.

"It's been a good summer, I guess, but I just want to get out of here, this town and high school and all of it. Band is just Leo's thing, and Leo is my best friend, and here I am, I guess? But I mostly just want out," Piper says. Jason frowns.

"Where do you want to be?" he asks.

"A city, any city, anywhere but right here. Some place with, like, museums and parks and art and where I can go to college and where everyone isn't the same," Piper says. Jason steps all the way into Piper's personal space and furrows his brow.

"Has it been bad here?" Jason asks, all concerned and wonderful.

"I hate it a lot sometimes," Piper confesses.

"No, I mean, I meant—I have this neighbor who listens to these things on the radio really loudly with the windows open, and, like, sometimes I hear him on the phone too, and the things he says and I know he's not the only one around here who thinks things like that and I—I mean, do people, like, do they say awful things to you?" Jason asks.

"Not usually with words, it's more looks, but. Yeah. It's happened," Piper says. Jason winces.

"I'm sorry, Piper," he says.

"Whatever," Piper says, shrugging. Jason just looks so sincere and it's just— Piper isn't used to that. "I mean, it's not like you fit here either, really. None of us do."

"I'm really good at pretending, though," Jason says, frowning again.

"I know. I'm not," Piper says.

"You shouldn't have to be," Jason says.

"Neither should you," Piper says.

"It's not quite the same," Jason says. He's got a hand rested on Piper, around her collarbone and Piper can feel Jason's breath and Jason is just so, he's just so Jason and Piper hears herself say,

"It sort of is, though. We all—we're different, you know? Or at least, that's what I—what's what it feels like. And sometimes it's, it's hard. But I don't mind, I wouldn't. I wouldn't mind trying to get over that. Things. Or. Something like that," she finishes. Piper can actually like, see the wheels in Jason's head turning at that, running that through in his head. Jason grins, small and quick.

"Can I ask you something else?" he asks.

"Of course," Piper says, and she's pretty sure she's never said of course to question in her entire life, but. Jason.

"Your tattoos, where'd you go to get them?" Jason asks.

"I take the bus, well, three buses, into the city, a friend of my cousin does them," Piper says. Jason smiles again and he—holy shit—he runs a finger across the edges of the lettering peeking out from under Piper's shirt, on her skin, making her pulse race faster than ever.

"Next time you get one, can I come?" Jason asks.

"I, yeah, okay," Piper says.

"Really?" Jason asks.

"Yeah," Piper says.

"Thank you," Jason says. His fingers are still tracing over Piper's skin and Piper knows she's breathing heavy and there is something happening here and she doesn't, this is like—

"Jason?" she says.

"Piper?" Jason says, and his smile is right there, so stupidly close to Piper's own mouth and his hands are still moving and Piper reaches up one of her own hands to still Jason's, just for a minute, and she says,

"How's it going?"

"I think—" Jason starts, and then—because, of course, of course, of course—Leo's voice cuts through the woods, loud and a little worried, and says,

"Do we need to send out a search party? Rachel is getting worried the trails aren't as safe as she remembered."

"Oh, we should go back, I guess," Jason says, and he starts to pull back a little, pull away a little. Piper is pretty sure she actually groans as she grips the back of Jason's shirt and halts his movement.

"Not yet," she says, and then she pulls Jason back in and she kisses him. There is this moment when their faces mostly just sort of bump and the angle is awkward and then they settle into it and Piper runs her hands up to grab the side of Jason's face and she sucks on Jason's bottom lip and—

"Not bad," Jason says, gasping and pulling back a little. Piper grins,

"I'm not normally good with first moves," she says, trailing her thumb down Jason's neck.

"First moves, swimming, mornings,directions, high school, this town. I got it," Jason says, "I'm not sure if counts as a first move when I was kind of groping you."

"Kind of?" Piper asks, raising an eyebrow.

"Was it a lot?" Jason asks.

"It might have been," Piper says.

"Did you mind?"

"Not at all," Piper says, leaning in to kiss Jason again. "But he really will send out a search party," she says when she pulls back.

"Yeah," Jason says, nodding as he leans in to kiss Piper this time.

Everyone can wait just a few more minutes.


End file.
